Small form factor hardware comes pre-loaded with Linux Mint

Not about to let Microsoft and Windows 8 hog the tech news spotlight, the folks behind the debian-based Linux Mint operating system have released official branded hardware that come pre-loaded with the open source OS — and you can get your hands on it today.

Built around CompuLab’s Fit PC3 hardware, the new mintBox comes in Standard and Pro flavors — each pre-installed with the latest open source Mint operating system. Encased in a die-cast metal case (the Pro version adds fins to show off its speed potential), the mintBox resembles what I imagine the offspring of my wireless router and laptop would look like.

Smaller than a DVD case (though not quite as thin), the mintBox PCs pack an AMD APU (1GHz G-T40N or 1.65GHz G-T56N), at least 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and more ports than you can shake a USB cable at. Surrounding the proudly-displayed Linux Mint logo on the front of the case are four USB 2.0 ports. On the rear, the port explosion continues with S/PDIF, DisplayPort, HDMI, gigabit ethernet, four USB 2.0, slots, two USB 3.0 slots, a serial RS232 port, power, and two WiFi antennas. A DVI adapter is also included with the unit.

It may be the size of my router, but it has more ports than my desktop!

Other neat features include the inclusion of two mini PCIe/mSATA slots, a fan-less design (the metal case acts as a passive heat sink for the hardware), Bluetooth and IR support (ironically the IR hardware does not have Linux drivers but they are working on a new revision), VESA mounting points, and an easily accessible hard drive.

What makes this small form factor PC interesting is the pre-installed operating system. CompuLabs and the Mint developers worked together to ensure compatibility specifically with the mintBox’s hardware. Mint 13 Cinnamon will come pre-installed on the mintBox, but the team has also crafted a special build of Linux Mint 12 with the MATE 1.2 UI and XBMC media center software as an alternative. Further, they managed to enable the Linux operating system’s 3D and hardware accelerated interface elements without needing the proprietary (free but closed source) display drivers from AMD.

Should users choose to install the AMD drivers, they will get access to smoother video playback and audio output over the HDMI connection. Both models are capable of 1080p video playback, but the mintBox Pro is a bit faster. It manages 60 FPS in glxgears and 1000 FPS in the Gallium renderer with the AMD drivers. the base model mintBox has the same glxgears performance but slower Gallium results at 800 FPS.

The mintBox PCs are ready to go out of the box, and the form factor and hardware open the doors to interesting project possibilities and niche uses. Home uses include low power servers, family desktops (kids might take a bit longer to break this PC thanks to the metal case), and as home theater PCs (HTPC). Further, organizations could deploy these in internet cafes, school labs, and libraries.

Unfortunately, while the hardware and operating system is solid, it comes at a hefty price. The base mintBox is $476 while the mintBox Pro runs $549 before taxes and shipping. That is going to push it out of reach for all but the most hardcore Mint fans, especially considering the free Mint OS can be installed on any old system.

The developers received some flak from users (evidenced by comments around the internet) for the price of the Mint hardware, but it is merely an option to get Linux Mint with the mintBox — users are still encouraged to download it and install it on whatever machine they want. Seeing Linux included in such a high end product is commendable, and I hope that it is a trend that continues.

Linux on the desktop has to start somewhere, and the Mint developers may as well start at the top with a really-nice-but-expensive product. One that will hopefully spur demand and interest in lower cost platforms that bundle the OS. In 2007, major PC OEM Dell began offering computers pre-installed with the popular Ubuntu operating system. They never really caught on, however. The PCs were mainly budget rigs, and due to the lower sales numbers than computers running Windows, Dell never scaled the offerings upwards to higher end computers in its lineup. Linux Mint seems to be going with the opposite approach of starting out with a high end product and (hopefully) working its way down into other products as the bundled open source OS of choice.

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